Kurt Lessenthien

Kurt G. Lessenthien is a former United States Navy Petty Officer convicted of attempted espionage for offering the location of submarines on deployment to people he believed to be Russian government representatives.

Summary

Lessenthien was arrested at a motel in Orlando, Florida, on April 3, 1996 and was charged with attempted espionage after offering information on the whereabouts of nuclear submarines on deployment and information on nuclear submarine technology to an undercover FBI agent posing as a representative of the Russian government.

Lessenthien pleaded guilty and was sentenced by a military court to life imprisonment on October, 28, 1996. In exchange for his plea agreement, he will serve 27 years. He was also given a dishonorable discharge and ordered to forfeit all pay and benefits. Lessenthien is currently confined at the United States Disciplinary Barracks in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Investigation and arrest

The investigation began after Lessenthien contacted the Russian embassy in Washington, D.C. and offered to sell representatives information on the United States Navy submarine program. The FBI and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service were alerted that Lessenthien had contacted the Russian embassy and was offering to sell Navy secrets. The FBI and NCIS said that Lessenthien was never in contact with foreign operatives.

Lessenthien was arrested at an Orlando motel on April 3, 1996 shortly after meeting with and "selling" classified documents to an undercover FBI agent whom he believed to be a representative of the Russian government.

Motive

At his trial, Lessenthien claimed to have accumulated more than $25,000 in credit card debt in what was described by a psychiatrist testifying for the defense as the "relentless pursuit of women that he intended to marry".

According to "The Virginia-Pilot", Capt. Michael M. Knowlan, then chairman of the Portsmouth Medical Center's psychiatry department, told jurors that Lessenthien was "overbearing with the women in his life" and "showered at least three (whom he sought to marry with extravagant gifts)". Lessenthien went deep into debt during his courtships.

During his trial, a former girlfriend testified that Lessenthien invited her and her son to stay at his Virginia Beach apartment shortly after her divorce. Bound for an overseas deployment, prepaid the rent and utility bills, and left the woman several signed, blank checks to pay for expenses. He also bought her a car and prepaid the insurance.

Lessenthien's wife at the time, Jessica, testified that he asked her to stay with him at his duplex in Orlando and paid $1,600 for remodeling to convert a room into a nursery for her son. When the two married in October 1995, Lessenthien sent her flowers and gifts on a daily basis.

During the trial, the Navy prosecutor, Lt. Cmdr. Chris Reismeier, attempted to tell jurors that Lessenthien decided to become a spy for money and excitement, not love.

Sources

*Washington Post, 4 Apr 1996, “Petty Officer Arrested on Spy Charges”
*Orlando Sentinel, 24 Apr 1996, “Orlando Sailor in Spy Arrest”
*Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk), 25 Oct 1996, “Love Led Sailor Into Spy Plot...”
*Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk), 26 Oct 1996, “Would-Be Spy Did It For Fun, Prosecutors Say”
*Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk), 29 Oct 1996, “Lessenthien Gets 27 Years in Espionage Case”

See also

*Espionage